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Healing well... Having less of the doubts about this being the right decision. .... I have been soooooooo busy that I don't even have time to think about food at this point. Thanksgiving was ok .. I wanted to eat but setteled for 2 bites of masshed potatoes and 2 tsp of Ice cream....o and I drank the juice off the collard greens.....so it was hard but more mentally than anything else....I have had a couple of stressfull situations latley which I normally would have run to McDonalds and gotten a burger but I have to learn to do this a different way now..... I am learning to ignore the grumbly tummy and just move on or have some water .... I know this liquid won't be forever and I look forward to the filet mignon ....I am thinking of doing a big Christmas at my house ... ..... I think I will be alright!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last weight was a few days ago before Thanksgiving and I was 256.2 which is down 13.6 lbs....

Hello! Well many of you may know me..and many of you may not. I've been on LBT for about 4mths now (I think). A little of my back-story is: I've been researching LapBand since about January of this year. July I decided it was for me. I attended the seminar at the end of July. My first appointment w/my surgeon was September 1st (after rescheduling an August 4th appt.). Since then I've had a fitness appointment, 2 nutrition appointments, a psychological evaluation, an upper endoscopy, a Resting Metabolic Rate test, a bone density test, endless lab work (I'm tired of being stuck), been put on a Vitamin D regimen and had my yearly physical. I'm grateful that I am 100% healthy and I know a ton more about my body now than I did 4mths ago. I was submitted to insurance October 17th (a Monday and a little over a month after my initial appointment w/my surgeon) and received my approval letter October 21st (Friday). Since then, I've had follow-up lab work, after having finished my Vitamin D regimen (was 8 now is 33 =D), I've met w/my surgeon for the pre-op appointment, went to the hospital where I will be having my procedure and met w/the RN to discuss the surgery and had more lab work done there (like I said.. I'm tired of being stuck =/). I am going through insurance and thankfully that has been a very painless process. They only required a BMI of 40 or greater, a psychological evaluation and 5yrs weight history. I was approved on my first try. That is A LOT to go through in just 3 short months. Now granted, while I was in it, it felt like it was taking FOREVER!! But in retrospect, it was really a blink of an eye. But now I'm at a point where my mind is catching up to my circumstances and this surgery, this life changing event, is becoming so real. My surgery date is December 8th and as of November 24th (Thanksgiving Day) I have been on my liquid diet. Everything is going very well and so far I've not had any problems or outrageous cravings. I'm actually not hungry most of the time, which is extremely helpful since all I'm taking in is protein shakes, sugar free drinks and sugar free jell-o/yogurt. Everyday of being on this liquid diet is really bringing me closer and closer to the realization of the step I am about to take. I have never had surgery for anything and yes, I am a little scared. I think you'd have to be inhuman to not be, under those circumstances. More than anything I'm excited and ready to hit the ground running, but if I'm real with myself, I hope that I'm ready. Everything happened so fast and that's a blessing, but I've had very little time to actually process what's going on. I think I've spent more time thinking about the end result more than the process it takes to get there. So, at this point, I'm just trying to take mental inventory. Checking my reality-o-meter and making sure I have realistic expectations. Making sure I am truly ready to take on the task that will soon be set before me. I believe I am, but I need to make sure the switch is flipped mentally and emotionally. Because if I'm not real with me, I'm only setting myself up for failure. I know many of you that (may) read this have probably already gone through this same thing. I'm sure it will pass and I'll be fine. But I at least wanted to take a minute to put my thoughts down. I usually feel better once I've gotten things off my chest and writing is the best way for me to do that. I'm on my way and it won't be long now. I am so grateful for this site and all the helpful people that share their success stories. You all have played a big part in the confidence I have that I have made the right decision! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted! Thank you all for your continued encouragement!! Thanks for reading! -Mary-

Today marks my 1 week post op and what a week it has been. Let me recap in a few important catagories. Physical I've experience the pain, which in all honesty isn't as bad as I would have expected. If we ignore the day of surgery and the day after, the rest of the week has been ok. I haven't needed any pain meds since the 3rd day post op. Pain has been limited to gas pain and incision site pain, both completely tolerable. The begining of the week I was a bit more tired than usual and I became tired quicker when doing simple activities like walking, each day this gets a bit better. Today I went shopping with my mother, my fitbit says I took around 3500 steps and walked 1.4 miles. My knees feel better, my back feels better, my feet feel better. I am actually sleeping better and waking up feeling as if I slept, no more waking tired. Looking forward to the next week! Emotional This has been one of the toughest things to deal with, the disappointment in not being able to enjoy the foods I love has hit me pretty hard a few times, always when out. I went to breakfast with my wife and her dad, I assumed that the resturant would have yogurt for me to eat since most do, they didn't. So I sat there with a decaf coffee and a kids sized orange juice while they ate. I don't like eggs and what not, but the smell comming off of their plates was so amazing, it took most of what I had to keep from breaking down into tears. I focused on why I'm doing this and resolved in the fact that I would be able to eat again in a few weeks. The biggest test was Thanksgiving. My family are big eaters, Italian families know how to eat. So I was dreading Thanksgiving at my parents house. The night prior I jumped the gun on my puree phase and attempted some pureed meat pie, a tiny 1/4 inch slice and some beef broth, blended it up, poured it into my 1/4 cup ramekin and heated it up. It looked so nasty, but the taste, after all the liquids and puddings and jello's was so damn amazing. And lucky for me, I didn't have any problems with eating it, I finished the serving a little quick for my liking, but I held off and sure enough, I felt the fullness coming on, but it never got painful, so I knew I hit the mark size wise. This gave me a bit of a bump for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and I pureed some turkey with gravy, some corn and potatos and took a 1/2 slice of cranberry sauce about a cup of food in total. We all said our thanks and got to eating. I focused on taking my time, I watched the clock and put my spoon down between "bites". About 20 mins in I knew I should stop, the fullness was just starting to kick up, so I put down my spoon and pushed the plate away. Everyone was suprised by how little I could eat. But they were all impressed. So one more big eating day left and it will be a smooth year. Weight I saved the best for last. I weighted in at 350 when I finally decided that I had had enough and that diets and yo-yo weight gain/loss had to go. My last appointment with my surgeon I weighted in at 343. The last "official" weight in at my pre-op training class was 336.8. The night before surgery I weighed myself on a medical scale at 335. Pretty good. But these next numbers are amazing. I had surgery on Friday, the following Monday I weighed in at 329, Yesterday, I weighed 324. So from 335 to 324 in 1 week! and all without feeling underfed. This is the motivation I need. I'm feeling the weight loss in my clothes, on my back and knees. It's noticable. I'm greatful to everyone here for the information and support that you are providing. All comments, both positive and critical are appreciated. I understand that to learn we need to be shown our faults. Stay Strong LBT!